Dental prophy angle

ABSTRACT

A dental prophy angle adapted to be coupled with a conventional power source, the angle being used in dental prophylaxis and being of a disposable construction whereby there is no danger of a chain of sepsis from one patient&#39;&#39;s mouth to another. The dental prophy angle is fabricated from suitable plastic materials and includes a housing having a passageway formed therein and extending from one end of the housing to the other, a flexible, rotatable drive shaft extending the length of the housing within the passageway, the shaft having a base stretch, a reduced stretch, and a head stretch, there being at least a pair of outwardly extending, annular ribs on the shaft, which ribs are received by recesses in communication with the passageway, the base stretch of the shaft being coupled with the power source, the head stretch being angularly offset with respect to the base stretch and having means thereon for receiving a workpiece.

United States Patent 91 Brahler DENTAL PROPHY ANGLE [75] Inventor:George R. Brahler, Lawrence, Kans. [73] Assignee: Exitec, Inc.,Lawrence, Kans.

[22] Filed: June 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 149,590

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.17,432, March 9,

1970, abandoned.

Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney schmidt, Johnson, Hovey &Williams 111 3,740,853 June 26, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT A dental prophy angleadapted to be coupled with a conventional power source, the angle beingused in dental prophylaxis and being of a disposable constructionwhereby there is no danger of a chain of sepsis from one patients mouthto another. The dental prophy angle is fabricated from suitable plasticmaterials and includes a housing having a passageway formed therein andextending from one end of the housing to the other, a flexible,rotatable drive shaft extending the length of the housing within thepassageway, the shaft having a base stretch, a reduced stretch, and ahead stretch, there being at least a pair of outwardly extending,annular ribs on the shaft, which ribs are received by recesses incommunication with the passageway, the base stretch of the shaft beingcoupled with the power source, the head stretch being angularly offsetwith respect to the base stretch and having means thereon for receivinga workpiece.

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DENTAL PROPIIY ANGLE CROSS REFERENCES This is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 17,432, filed Mar. 9, 1970 and now abandoned, andentitled Dental Prophy Angle.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide an anglefor use in dental prophylaxis, which dental prophy angle is adapted tobe coupled with a typical power source, as is conveniently provided indental equipment, the entire prophy angle being disposable after asingle use whereby to preclude any possibility of a chain of sepsis fromthe mouth of one patient to the mouth of a succeeding patient.

To accomplish the disposability, the angle is formed from a housingfabricated from a suitable plastic material, the housing having apassageway formed therein and extending from one end of the housing tothe other, there being a flexible plastic, rotatable drive shaftextending the length of the housing, the drive shaft having a basestretch which is adapted to be coupled with the power source, a reducedstretch which traverses an area of bend, and a head stretch havingbutton means thereon for coupling a workpiece to the shaft whereby, uponrotation of the shaft, the workpiece will be rotated.

Yet another important object of this invention is to provide means forlocating the shaft within the passageway and for permitting the rotationthereof, such means taking the form of at least a pair of outwardlyextending, spaced annular ribs, one of the ribs being on the basestretch of the shaft, the other being located at the juncture of thereduced stretch and the head stretch, there being recesses defined bysaid housing and in communication with the passageway, the recessesreceiving the ribs for free rotation the'rewithin.

Other objects include details of construction which will become apparentfrom the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the dental prophy an- FIG. 2 is asubstantially central, longitudinal sectional view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the drive shaft; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the drive shaft taken from theright side of FIG. 4.

The prophyangle includes a housing 12 which may be molded from plasticintwo identical half sections, the housing having a passageway 14 formedtherein whichreceives a drive shaft 16. The prophy angle" as thusbroadly constituted, is utilized in the dental profession for variouspurposes, such as cleaning teeth or the like, the prophy angle beingattached to a suitable power source, which power source isconventionally in the nature of a straight handpiece which is powered bymeans such as an air motor, pressurized water, suitable belt and pulleyarrangements or equivalent power devices whereby power is delivered tothe straight handpiece for ultimate delivery to the particular toolwhich is coupled to the handpiece.

Thus, in the present invention, it is intended to provide a disposabledental prophy angle which can be readily coupled with the power sourceconventionally provided in a straight dental handpiece. To this end, it

is contemplated that all of the components of the prophy angle 10 willbe fabricated from a suitable plastic material whereby the same may bereadily and economically molded, the housing 12 being molded in matinghalf sections which can be suitably secured together whereby to providean enclosure for drive shaft 16 and, at the same time, define thepassageway 14 in which the drive shaft 16 is received.

The housing 12 includes a shank portion 18 ofa conical configurationwhich is tapered toward a head portion 20, the head portion 20 of thehousing 12 being angularly offset with respect to the shank portion 18thereof, all as is clearly shown in the drawings, it being appreciatedthat the degree of angular offset of head portion 20 with respect toshank portion 18 may be varied, depending upon the particular use towhich the prophy angle 10 is to be put.

Housing 12 presents an open end 22 which is normally proximal to thepoint of coupling of the prophy angle with the power source and anopposed end surface 24 which is normally proximal to the workpiece 26,such as a rubber cup for instance, which is coupled with the prophyangle 10.

The passageway 14 which is defined by the housing 12 and which extendsfrom one end 22 to the other end 24 thereof, is initially in the form ofa conical cavity 28 which then decreases in dimension to a generallycylindrical passage 30, which passage 30 extends through the remainderof shank portion 18 of the housing 12 and through the head portion 20 ofhousing 12 to the end surface 24 thereof, the passageway 30 opening outof the housing 12 whereby to present an open head end 32.

The flexible shaft 16, which is fabricated from a suitable plasticmaterial, is best shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, the shaft 16including a base stretch 34; a centrally positioned reduced stretch 36;and a head stretch 38, the base stretch 34 and the head stretch 38 beingof the same diameter, the reduced stretch 36 being of a diameter smallerthan that of stretches 34 and 38. A step or shoulder 40 is presentedbetween the base stretch 34 and the reduced stretch 36.

Shaft 16 also carries at least a pair of outwardly extending, spacedannular ribs 42 and 44, the rib 42 being formed as a part of basestretch 34 and the rib 44 being formed at the juncture between thereduced stretch 36 and the head stretch 38. Each of the ribs hasopposed, flat faces such as 46 and 48 and an outermost rim or edge 50.

The shaft 16 also has formed as a part thereof, an outwardly extending,annular stop member 52, said stop member being of a diameter greaterthan that of the head stretch 38 of which it is a part, and also greaterthan the diameter of the ribs 42 and 44, the di ameter of said ribs 42and 44, in turn, being greater than that of any stretch of the shaft 16.Head stretch 38 of the shaft 16 also has formed as a part thereof abutton 54, the button 54 being at the other end 56 of the shaft 16,which other end 56 is opposite to the one end 58 which is coupled withthe power source (not shown).

When the shaft 16 is disposed within the housing 12 and the prophy angle10 is ready for operation, the shaft 16, which is of cylindricalcross-sectional configuration, lies within the passageway 14, asillustrated for instance in FIG. 3, the shaft being positioned in such amanner that the base stretch 34 and a portion of the reduced stretch 36lie in one plane. the remainder of reduced stretch 36 and the headstretch 38 being angularly offset, the reduced stretch 36 traversing thearea of bend 60 of the housing 12 and passageway 14.

In order to permit and facilitate ready rotation of the shaft 16 withinthe passageway 14, and to prevent longitudinal movement of the shaft 16within the passageway 14, each of the ribs 42 and 44 is received withina corresponding recess 62 and 64 respectively, which recesses aredefined by the housing 12 and are in communication with the passageway14, all as clearly illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The recesses62 and 64 are each of annular configuration and are of a diametergreater than the ribs 42 and 44 which are received therein respectively.

The stop member 52 is positioned against the end surface 24 of thehousing 12 whereby to also prevent longitudinal retraction of the shaft16 into the housing 12 as the shaft is rotated upon actuation of thepower source to which the shaft 16 is coupled. The stop member 52 alsoserves to maintain button 54 at the desired spaced interval from endwall 24 of the housing 12 whereby the workpiece, such as cup 26, may bereadily snap-fitted over the button 54 and thereby rotated as the shaft16 is rotated within the housing 12.

It has been found that the provision of reduced stretch 36 in shaft16'facilitates the rotation of the shaft '16 and also that, dependingupon the degree of annular offset of head'portion 20 of housing 12 withrespect to shank portion 18 thereof, the stretch 36 can be furtherreduced if the angle of offset is greater. In other words, the higherthe degree of angular offset of the shaft and the housing, the furtherreduction in diameter of the reduced stretch 36 of shaft 16.

Thus there is provided a dental prophy angle l which is readily andeconomically fabricated from suitable plastic material whereby theprophy angle may be driven by conventional equipment and utilized for asingle prophylaxis treatment, the entire prophy angle then beingdiscarded whereby to preclude the possibility of a chain of sepsis fromone patient to another.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A dental prophy angle comprising: a housing having a passagewayformed therein and extending from one end of the housing to the other,said housing having a shank portion and a head portion, the head portionbeing angularly offset with respect to said shank portion; flexible,rotatable drive shaft extending the length of said housing within saidpassageway, said shaft having a base stretch, a central stretch, and ahead stretch, the base stretch of the shaft being within the shankportion of the housing, the head stretch of the shaft being within thehead portion of the housing, there being an area of bend in the shaftbetween the base stretch and'the head stretch, the central stretch ofthe shaft occupying said area of bend and traversing the angular offsetbetween the shank portion and the head portion of the housing; and atleast a pair of outwardly extending, spaced, annular ribs on said shaft,one of said ribs being on the said base stretch, the other being at thejuncture of the central stretch and the head stretch, said ribs having adiameter greater than that of the passageway, there being recessesformed in the housing and in communication with said passageway andreceiving said ribs.

1. A dental prophy angle comprising: a housing having a passagewayformed therein and extending from one end of the housing to the other,said housing having a shank portion and a head portion, the head portionbeing angularly offset with respect to said shank portion; a flexible,rotatable drive shaft extending the length of said housing within saidpassageway, said shaft having a base stretch, a central stretch, and ahead stretch, the base stretch of the shaft being within the shankportion of the housing, the head stretch of the shaft being within thehead portion of the housing, there being an area of bend in the shaftbetween the base stretch and the head stretch, the central stretch ofthe shaft occupying said area of bend and traversing the angular offsetbetween the shank portion and the head portion of the housing; and atleast a pair of outwardly extending, spaced, annular ribs on said shaft,one of said ribs being on the said base stretch, the other being at thejuncture of the central stretch and the head stretch, said ribs having adiameter greater than that of the passageway, there being recessesformed in the housing and in communication with said passageway andreceiving said ribs.